Attempt New Ways Of Life

January 28, 2005|By Pastor Jim Zabloski First Baptist Church of West Hollywood

As an annual tradition, people often make resolutions they don't intend to keep, but it's the thought that counts.

Like the little lad who asked his grandpa if he planned on making any "New Year's revolutions" this year, let's make some that will not only be beneficial for us, but for our fellow man as well.

Know God better. Jesus followed his claim to be God with the words, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He also said that the truth shall set us free. To that end, determine to know more of God, for only then will we be freer.

Do what you love. So many people get up and go to jobs they hate, living lives of daily drudgery. What a waste. Determine this year to savor the years you have left on this side of eternity doing what you love. Life's too short to spend it being miserable.

Go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is. When was the last time you took an honest-to-goodness risk, something completely outside your comfort zone? Real life is not lived in the stodgy tradition of routine, but on the edge where we thought we'd never go but were thrilled we did. Sometime this year when you hear yourself say "I could never do that," it may be the very thing God wants you to do to revolutionize your life.

Put more faith in God than in people. If there's one thing we must learn, it is that people are flawed and God is not. His word is true, his will is best, his motive is pure, his love is unending. There is nothing evil, unfair, untrue, unworthy or misrepresented in him. That can't always be said of people.

Work hard. Give all you have to your vocation. Don't stiff your employer; it'll come back to haunt you. "Give and it shall be given unto you" is a principle that goes beyond money.

Play to the legal limit. Work first, but then play for all you're worth. The older we get, the less we play. Determine to allow some time in your life just to have fun, to laugh, to frolic.

Lighten up. Don't take life so seriously this year. So what if someone cuts in front at the grocery line? Is that worth blowing a blood vessel over?

Live every moment to the utmost. You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can influence its depth and width. Ask yourself every sundown, "If this was my last day on earth, am I happy with how it ended?" If not, make amends first thing in the morning. If you're given another day, determine to do better.

Exercise. Why do we avoid doing something we know will help us create friends, feel better, give us energy, and make us look good? We are body, soul and spirit. Working on only two-thirds of our being is like trying to sit on a three-legged stool with one leg missing. Flush the diet pills and take control of your life this year.

Value friendship. An old proverb says, "Go often to the house of a friend, for an unused path is quickly covered with weeds." Call a friend or pray for one every day. Cancel unnecessary activities to visit more often with friends. Maybe trying to take on all 10 New Year's `revolutions' would be overwhelming. But is there any reason we can't take a few and begin with those?

Jim Zabloski is a pastor at First Baptist Church of West Hollywood.

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